Arch-supporter for boots and shoes.



s. H. 'BOYAJIAN.

ARCH SUPPORTER FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25. 917.

1,242,31 '7. Patented 001;. 9,1917.

INvENmv: Jan/44%.

ATM 5.

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SARKIS H. BOYAJ'IAN, OF MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS.

ARGH-SUPPORTER FOB. BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented Oct. 9, 1917.

Application filed July 25, 1917. Serial No. 182,657.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SARKIS H. BOYAJIAN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Melrose, county of Middlesex,State of 'Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Arch-Supporters for Boots and. Shoes, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings. I

Arch supporters as heretofore constructed for boots and shoes have notbeen quickly and easily adjustable by the wearer to the shape of theinstep. Heretofore, such arch supporters have usually been made from acast of the foot, in which case they are expensive, or have been made inaccordance with a certain standard shape and size, in which cases theyfit the foot imperfectly. In either case, they are likely to do injuryto the shoes. I am aware that'it has been proposed to make an adjustablearch supporter, but such supporters have not been adjustable withouttaking the shoe apart and doing injury on the exterior of the boot orshoe so as to be. likely to catch and trip the wearer and are thereforedangerous and unsightly.

My invention has for its object a new and improved arch supporter, incombination with the shoe itself, which, although made into the shoe, iscapable of ready adjustment by the wearer for the purpose of increasingor diminishing the amount of curvature given the shaft of the shoe. The

device embodying my invention is simple and inexpensive; it is notvisible from the outside of the shoe and therefore does not disfigure'the shoe' at all. It is easily accessible in case adjustment of the archis required. This adjustment may be made by the wearer himself.

I The invention will be fully understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and thenovel features thereof are distinctly defined in the claims at the closeof this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a shoe containingan arch su porter embodying my invention.

' ig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a heel embodying my. invention.

to it, or they have been Fig. 4 is a. side elevation of the frontmember. a

7 Referring to the drawings, at A is indicated the upper of a boot orshoe, the heel being shown at B, the outsole at C and insole at D. Theshoe may be made of any desired type and may or may not have a metalshank. It is only necessary that the shoe be of such a construction thatthe arch supporter can be inserted between the two layers of the instep,preferably between the outsole and the insole.

At 11 is shown the front member and at 12 is shown the rear member of adevice by means of which the curvature of the instep of the shoe isregulated. The front member 11 consists of a relatively flat flexibleplate secured in any suitable manner as by nails 13 to the sole of theshoe and a stem 14 which is screw threaded at the rear end.

The heel. member 12 includes a lug 18 which extends downwardly from theheel seat into a suitable recess 15 in the upper part of the heel of theshoe. This lug 18 may be carried on the under side of the plate 16 ormay be otherwise suitably secured to the rear part of the shoe. The lug18 is bored out as shown at- 17 to admit the screw threadedstem 14 and atubular nut 19 having an enlarged head. Severalholes 20 are drilledradially in the head of the said nut 19 so that the nut can be turned byinserting a pin into one of the holes. Similar holes 30 are also drilledin the front end of the stem. The insole of the shoe D has a recess oropening 21 formed therein adjacent a corresponding recess 22 in theplate 16 so that access may be had through these recesses to the holes20 in the nut. If desired the recess 22 in the plate 16 may be closed bythe insertion of a small piece of leather of corresponding size andshape. At 31 is a hole in the sole through which the front end of thetubular nut 19 may be reached and the nut turned to adjust thecurvature'without takin oil the shoe.

If more than norma curvature of the shank of the shoe adjacent theinstep of the wearer is required the nut 19 is turned as described sothat it screws onto the stem 14 and tends to bring the two ends closertogether. ter of curvature, it tends to bendthe instep of the shoe andincrease its curvature. The

10.5 Since. the device lies nearer the cenmaterials of which thisportion of the shoe are made are ordinarily of sufficient strength sothat When held in place by the tension flat, and as the wearer becomesaccustomed i to them, the curvature will be increased from time to timeas required. lln this way, the shoe may be adjusted to the foot of thewearer until it fits perfectly and the wearer does not have to gothrough a period of dis comfort'or even of pain in getting-accustomed tothe supports. Another important feature is the fact that the instep doesnot rest directly on a metal surface which is substantially rigid. Itis, therefore, more comfortable and better for the foot. As the devicelies Wholly between the insole and the outsole, it does not detract fromthe appearance of the shoe, nor in fact is it visible, nor is there anydanger of tripping resulting from it.

What it claim is:

1. In combination witha boot or shoe, having a plurality of layers ofmaterial at the shank, a tension member lying between said layers ofmaterial and secured at its ends to the shoe, and means for shorteningsaid tension member to increase the curvature of the adjacent portion ofthe boot or shoe.

having an insole and an outsole, a tension 2. In combination with a bootor shoe,-

member lying between said insole and outsole, and secured at its ends tothe shoe, and means for shortening said tension member to increase thecurvature of the adjacent portion of the boot or shoe. W

' 3. .ln combination with a boot or shoe having an insole and anoutsole, an arch adjusting device lying between said insole and outsoleand, comprising a thin flexible front member secured to the shoeforwardly of the shank, a rear portion secured to the shoe adjacent theheel, and screw actuated means for varying the distance between saidmembers.

4:. The combination with a boot or shoe having an insole and an outsole,a tension member secured at its ends to the shoe and located between theinsole and the outsole, and screw actuated means for shortening saidtension member there being an opening in the insole adjacent said screwactuated means to permit access thereto.

5. The combination with a' boot or shoe having an insole and an outsole,a tension device comprising a front member secured to the shoe forwardlyof the shank, a rear member having a depending lug, said rear memberbeing secured to the shoe to the rear of the shank, said forward memberhaving lug, and a nut on said stem, there being an opening through theinsole to permit access to the said nut.

a screw threaded stem received within said

